Le Premier ministre stupéfiant

Chapitre 60

"You don't know this, but the Lantern Festival has been a famous Valentine's Day throughout history." Mo Xibei painted a traditional Chinese landscape painting on a newly pasted lantern, using just a few strokes to depict verdant distant mountains and flowing water. "They all want to go and see it, so it's best to make things as convenient as possible."

"What do you mean?" Mu Fei asked, puzzled.

"Last year on the night of the first month of the lunar calendar, the flower market was as bright as day, the moon rose above the willow tips, and people made appointments after dusk. What does this describe? 'I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly, turning around, I found him where the lights were dim.' What does this describe? It's just about the romantic affairs of the Lantern Festival." Mo Xibei shook his head, picked up the lantern and examined it carefully. He thought it made sense, so he casually hung it on the rack.

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Volume Two: The Wind Leaves a Trace, Chapter Fifteen: The Shocking Change at the Lantern Festival (Part Two)

"Now that you mention it, the Lantern Festival sounds interesting. Let's go for a stroll in the streets." Mu Feinan's mood, which had been sour from being forced to eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls), suddenly improved.

"Of course I'll go take a look. I also want to see how the Lantern Festival in the capital is different from that in Jiangnan." Mo Xibei washed the ink off his hands in the basin and then prepared to leave.

"Northwest." Mu Feinan grabbed Mo Northwest's arm, preventing her from leaving.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to watch the excitement anymore?" Mo Xibei asked, puzzled.

"I want to go, but can you promise me one thing?" Mu Feinan hesitated for a moment, glanced quickly at Mo Xibei, and then turned to look out the window.

"What is it?" Mo Xibei chuckled and reached out to turn Mu Feinan's face so that he would look at him when he spoke.

“You…” Mu Feinan looked at her, and after a while said, “Northwest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear women’s clothes before. If you don’t want to wear them, then forget it.”

"Hehe..." Seeing the slightly awkward expression on Mu Feinan's face after he finished speaking, Mo Xibei laughed heartily, "It's just asking me to change my clothes, why is it so hard to say?"

“I’m afraid you won’t like hearing me say things like this.” A suspicious blush appeared on Mu Feinan’s face, and his tone turned harsh.

"It's just a set of clothes, what's the difference between men's and women's clothes?" Mo Xibei looked down at his clothes and realized that he hadn't worn a long skirt for almost a year. "Besides, Honglu said that I look more handsome in men's clothes than in women's clothes."

"I have my doubts about your red and green eyes." Mu Feinan shook his head and pulled Mo Xibei into his arms. "My Xibei is the most beautiful."

"Then why did you make me change into women's clothes?" Mo Xibei frowned. He'd found a real problem. "You said there were a lot of people outside. Wouldn't it be strange for the two of us to be dressed like this and walking hand-in-hand?" Mu Feinan tapped Mo Xibei's forehead. The movement was forceful, yet the touch was gentle.

"Oh. You should have said so earlier. I'll be changing for a while, and don't get your hopes up too high." Mo Xibei automatically recalled the strange expressions the shop assistants had occasionally given them when they were together these past few days. Oh, she went out to watch the excitement, not to be the center of attention. Women's clothing it is.

Like all women, Mo Xibei actually owned quite a few women's clothes of various materials and colors. Most of these were new clothes that Honglu had bought for her after she arrived, because when she came from Jiangnan at the beginning of last year, her ship was destroyed. All the clothes she brought with her were destroyed on the ship, and even after the clothes were made, she didn't have time to examine them closely, let alone try them on. Mu Feinan drank a pot of tea, ate an apple, and chewed three pieces of pastry. Then she paced around the study more than a dozen times, but Mo Xibei still didn't appear. Mu Feinan then clearly understood what Mo Xibei meant when she said that changing clothes would take time.

Naturally, by the time Mo Xibei was finally able to go out, more than half an hour had passed.

After comparing and trying on several dresses, Mo Xibei finally chose a plain satin Moonflower dress. The Moonflower dress had large peonies embroidered in gold thread on the hem. The dress was long and flowing, and when she walked, it shone like moonlight, hence its name. After changing into the dress, Mo Xibei carefully walked a few steps, and after making sure that she would not step on such a long hem and embarrass herself, she immediately ran to the study next door.

"Does it look good?" Mo Xibei lifted her skirt slightly and twirled in front of Mu Feinan, watching her skirt flutter and sparkle like a rising moon.

"It's beautiful." Mu Feinan's gaze didn't seem to fall on the dress. He just walked closer step by step, then suddenly reached out and picked Mo Xibei up by the waist. He turned around and, instead of going out, went back into the study.

"I've changed my clothes. Aren't we going out to watch the excitement?" Mo Xibei felt slightly embarrassed by Mu Fei's gaze. Although the night was cool, he felt a burning sensation in his face and heart from that gaze.

“I regret it. With such a beautiful moon, we shouldn’t have gone to join the crowd. We should have done something more meaningful.” After Mu Feinan finished speaking, he saw Mo Xibei’s face turn red as he wished. After a pause, he slapped Mo Xibei on the head and said with a wicked smile, “What are you thinking about? Come and see. You came out wearing such a beautiful dress, but you still have a man’s hairstyle.”

Mo Xibei suddenly remembered something he had forgotten in his haste. He felt that he had been too clumsy in handling things. Fortunately, there was a mirror in the study. He quickly took apart his hair and combed it again.

When they finally left the mansion, the streets were already bustling with people, especially women and children who were not usually allowed to go out.

Guessing lantern riddles is a traditional activity during the Lantern Festival. The streets are full of people guessing lantern riddles, and the small gifts prepared by the merchants are also very unique. However, Mo Xibei is impatient with guessing riddles, so he prefers to linger at the stalls that sell small items and trinkets.

Mu Feinan seemed uninterested in anything, only holding Mo Xibei's left hand tightly, letting her drag him through the crowd.

Today was the first time in many years that Mu Feinan had gone without a mask in front of so many people. His appearance was already exceptionally striking, and Mo Xibei was also handsome and cheerful; such a pair walking down the street inevitably attracted a lot of attention. Mo Xibei seemed oblivious, but Mu Feinan was quite troubled. For many years, he had been accustomed to being constantly vigilant of his surroundings. Even without looking, he instinctively sensed the presence of danger in every glance directed at him. And it seemed that tonight, his workload was quite heavy.

"Want to try this? It's crispy and sweet and sour." Mo Xibei stood happily in front of the candied hawthorn stall, carefully selecting a large, red skewer, and then tempted Mu Feinan.

"Silly girl, you like to eat it all by yourself." Mu Feinan shook his head and smiled, "You're this happy over a string of candied hawthorns. I wonder how happy you'd be if you received a gift."

"That depends on what the gift is." Mo Xibei took a bite of the candied hawthorn, closed his eyes slightly in satisfaction, and chewed vigorously.

"Would you consider this a gift that would make you happy?" Mu Feinan reached into his pocket with his left hand, pretending to rummage around for a while, and even frowned, seemingly very surprised.

"What? Did you lose your hand in the crowd?" Mo Xibei noticed that his hand was still not being pulled out, so he couldn't help but lean over and offer to help.

"It seems like it's really lost. I clearly put it in my arms." Mu Feinan's face also turned ugly as he looked back at the way he came.

"It's nothing, just forget about it. We can just find the same thing later." Mo Xibei was slightly disappointed, but quickly comforted Mu Feinan.

"Alright, seeing how obedient you are, it grew legs and came back on its own." Seeing that Mo Xibei believed him, Mu Feinan smiled and withdrew his hand. In his palm, a hollowed-out pure gold phoenix hairpin lay quietly.

"How beautiful!" Mo Xibei exclaimed. She vaguely remembered that it was the most expensive gift set by a merchant for the riddles. She had just casually praised it twice. However, she had been walking in a hurry and did not know when Mu Feinan had guessed the answer and received the hairpin.

"Shall I help you put it on?" Mu Feinan lowered his head and whispered in Mo Xibei's ear.

"Hmm!" Mo Xibei's ears felt hot, and he nodded.

Mu Feinan then smiled and inserted the hairpin into Mo Xibei's hair bun. Just now, the hair bun, which was as black and shiny as clouds, was completely empty. Now it seemed that the space had been specially made for this phoenix hairpin.

"Bravo..." A burst of cheers and applause erupted almost simultaneously around them. The two, who had been gazing at each other in a daze, suddenly realized that they were surrounded by a large group of young men and women on an outing, all smiling and looking at them with envy. Even though they were thick-skinned, they felt embarrassed at this moment. They quickly put their hands together, lowered their heads, and forced themselves to run out. After running for a long time, they finally burst into laughter.

"Northwest, I have never felt so happy." That night, they stood together on the high city wall, looking up at the night sky.

“Happiness is something we give to each other. Actually, I never thought I would meet you one day.” Mo Xibei took a long breath. “Thank you.”

"Why are you thanking me?" Mu Feinan pulled Mo Xibei along, their clothes fluttering and intertwining in the biting wind.

"Because I also feel happy." Mo Xibei turned around and smiled, his eyes shining brightly.

The result of sleeping too late was that on the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, when Honglu knocked on the door, Mo Xibei was in so much pain that it seemed as if he had suffered internal injuries.

"Murong Lianyun went out yesterday evening and hasn't come back since." Honglu's words bombarded Mo Xibei, leaving him completely bewildered.

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